American Independent Party

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American Independent Party is a United States political party. The party was established in 1968 by former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, Sr. Wallace was on every state ballot. Wallace and his running mate Curtis E. LeMay received 13.5 percent of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes. The party was opposed to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and opposed to federal government welfare programs.

In 1969, representatives from 40 states established the American Party as the successor to the American Independent Party. In 1972, the party nominated former Congressman John G. Schmitz of California for president. In 1976, the American Party split into the more moderate American Party, which included more northern conservatives and Schmitz supporters, and the more extreme American Independent Party, which focused on the deep South. Both of the parties have nominated candidates for the presidency and other offices. Neither the American Party or the American Independent Party has had much national success.

The American Independent Party has had ballot status in the state of California since 1968 and is still active there. It is the state affiliate for the national Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers Party. Many political analysts have theorized that the Party, which has received very few votes in recent California elections, maintains its state ballot status because people join the Party mistakenly believing that they are registering as an "independent.".<ref name=independent>Voting at the Political Fault Line: California's Experiment With the Blanket Primary (2002), page 219. ISBN 0520228340</ref>

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